“You can call me Dani Pudi all you want, with an I.”
-Danny Pudi
The ultimate Community fan encounter might be to be a guest on “Troy and Abed in the Morning” at Greendale Community College. I’ll settle for evening empanadas with Danny Pudi. At NBC’s party for the Television Critics Association, I found Pudi mingling early in the night. We found a corner table to sit at for an interview, and grabbed the hors d’oeuvres that came by.
Whether you started out playing “Smoke on the Water” using three buttons or if you could 100% “Through Fire and Flame,” the Guitar Hero franchise holds a special place in the heart of the gaming community. That place is now held in memoriam, since last week Activision Blizzard pulled the plug on the groundbreaking series.
While Guitar Hero was not the first format to introduce musical play, it brought the genre up to the forefront of gaming. The first Guitar Hero game gained a lot of attention. Gamers put away their first-person-shooters and real-time-strategy games, instead turning their game nights into miniature rock concerts. After Red Octane (who owned the rights to Guitar Hero) was bought by Activision, Harmonix (who had actually developed the original game) subsequently released their rival Rock Band format, which created some hard competition for the Guitar Hero franchise.
You know who Chuck Palahniuk is; he’s inspired a generation of fucked up outsiders and insiders alike. He lit the fuse that sent my imagination projecting forward towards creative bliss and artistic freedom. His reach extends so far that even if people don’t know his name, they at least know one of his works. Since Fight Club — his first published novel — Palahniuk has grown as a writer and his audience has grown with him, enjoying every second of this wild ride through the world’s dirty subconscious. He is the father of Tyler Durden. He blew Shannon McFarland’s jaw off. He gave us false messiahs and pre-op trannies. And we love him for it.
MAKES ME HAPPY: The sea, sun, nature, basically. When I spend too much time in the city, I need a break to unwind and breathe fresh air. Also, an unexpected visit, a good party, a walk with my dog, and an afternoon creating crafts, clothes.
MAKES ME SAD: People addicted to suffering and problems, that always complain, and do not know what it is to have a real problem. Intolerance, disrespect, discrimination. The hunger and the enrichment of a few (at the cost of many), the civilization in which we have become. The hypocrisy, and the Materialism.
HOBBIES: Tribal fusion belly dancing, tattoos, sewing, recycling, going to parties and concerts, and photography.
5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Cheese, chocolate, music, sex, love.
VICES: Cheese, seeing the movies I like many times, tattoos and piercings, secondhand markets, sushi, and apple juice.
I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: Watching movies, painting, getting out.
Moby has just announced the impending release of his new 15-track album, Destroyed, which will come out in mid-May. “Musically it’s very melodic and atmospheric and electronic,” says the composer, producer and DJ in a just-don’t-call-it-a-blog post. “If I had to sum it up I would describe it as: ‘broken down melodic electronic music for empty cities at 2 a.m.'”
Ahead of the album’s release, Moby is giving fans the opportunity to download an EP for free. The three song sampler contains the tracks “Be the One,” “Sevastopol” and “Victoria Lucas.” We highly recommend you put in the mouse time, since we’ve had these tunes in heavy rotation to help us chill the fuck out for most of the day.
